Maharashtra speaker cannot defeat orders of apex court: SC on Shiv Sena disqualification plea

The Supreme Court on Friday came down hard on the Maharashtra assembly speaker for the delay in deciding the plea for disqualification of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and several MLAs, saying the speaker cannot defeat the orders of the top court.

Somebody has to advise the Speaker that he cannot defeat the orders of the Supreme Court, a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to apprise the court about the timeline for deciding the issue.

A visibly irked CJI said a decision on disqualification pleas has to be taken before the next assembly elections or the whole process will become infructuous. The bench said if it is not satisfied with the timeline of the Speaker then it would direct that the decision be taken within two months.

The authority of this court must be upheld in cases where a decision is in conflict with the Constitution of India, the bench conveyed, suggesting that it might consider hearing the plea on either Monday or Tuesday.

Back on September 18, the Supreme Court instructed the speaker of the Maharashtra assembly to provide a clear timetable for the resolution of the disqualification petitions against Eknath Shinde and other Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).